the world will be watching
by cold as ice 1915
Summary: Welcome to the 74th Hunger Games! May the odds be ever in your favor! Hurry and find your seats before the games begin! This is a glee and HG X over. R & R! title subject to change.
1. Chapter 1

It was reaping day again and everyone was in attendance. There were lines of people all sorted by age and ready to see if they would be sent off to the Capitol to fight for their lives. For some it would be dumb luck if their name was called but for some the odds were definitely not in their favor. This was the first year Marley Rose was actually worried about the reaping. She wasn't worried about her own chances- she wasn't selfish like that- but she was worried for her younger sister Katie. A few weeks ago Katie turned 13 which made this her first year with one entry in the reaping ball. This was the first year Katie could be chosen to fight against her fellow citizens of Panem to be crowned the victor of the 74th Hunger Games.

Marley pulled at the hem of her light blue dress and glanced around her trying to see through the throng of people to glimpse her sister's bright blonde hair. She couldn't see her but then there was a commotion up on stage as Effie Trinket stood up on the stage and headed over to the large glass ball with slips of paper with out names on it. She drags her hand around the glass bowl making sure to "mix them up really well". Around Marley people stopped breathing. Their chests stopped rising and falling and their breath no longer made little clouds of fog as they exhaled. There was only one chance Katie would be chosen and that was out of hundreds of entries. It was almost ridiculous how much Marley was worried Katie would get chosen. Marley rolled her shoulders and released her breath in a loud exhale in the silence of the square outside of the justice building.

Effie Trinket crosses back to the podium a small slip of paper in her hands. Inside that slip of paper is the name of the kid who is either doomed to die or survive and win a house and more money than any person of district 12 could possibly dream of having.

"Ladies first!" She pauses hoping there will be some kind of applause or acknowledgement of what she was about to do but all she was met with was silence and a wet cough from an older man in the back of the audience. Marley crosses her fingers praying it will not be herself or her sister to be called.

"This year's tribute for district 12 will be… Katie Rose!" She sweeps her arm wide and settles on the small frame of my sister. Something in Marley freezes and she is routed to the spot. Katie swallows loudly and then tentatively takes a few steps forward. A path clears in front of Marley and she snaps out of her dazed confusion. Out of all those names Katie's is selected. The odds were in her favor and still she lost. _This can't be happening! _Marley ran forward pushing through all of the people who weren't smart enough to move out of her way. She stumbled twice but was able to throw herself in front of Katie.

"I volunteer!" Marley gasps trying to make her voice sound sure and strong. "I volunteer as tribute!" Marley says with more gusto trying to make herself seem older and in charge of the situation.

People gasp as they realize someone has volunteered to go into the arena. The Peacekeepers from district 12 glanced at each other. There hadn't been a volunteer tribute in many years and the protocol was a little rusty.

Effie Trinket glances around her unsure of what to do but she smiles and says "Lovely! But I believe there's a small matter of introducing the reaping winner and then asking for volunteers, and if one does not come forth then we, um…"

"What does it matter?" The mayor steps forward and puts a hand on Effie Trinket's shoulder. The mayor didn't know all of the residents of District 12 but clearly he knew me and my family. It was hard not to.

About five years ago Marley's father was working in the coal mines on the outskirts of the district when one of the gas lamps erupted, catching a nearby coal deposit on fire. The explosion which ripped through the mine killed 75 workers including her dad. The shock waves were felt all the way into town where Marley had been buying bread for her family. Everyone in the town instantly knew what had happened and those who had been asleep were quickly awoken to the sounds of terrified screaming. _Wake up the miner's are dead!_ That was one of the only phrases that Marley's mind wanted to process at that time. There were other shouts too but Marley couldn't think of what they were now.

"What does it matter?" The mayor demanded again, "Let her come forward".

Katie was screaming hysterically behind Marley and trying to get her older sister to stop walking forward. Katie clawed at Marley's arm and finally through herself around one of Marley's legs like she was a five year old again.

"Katie let go." Marley says this a little harshly but the tears threatening to spill over onto my face wouldn't let Marley's voice sound any nicer. "Let go!"

A hand groped at Marley's leg and at the frightened girl who was trying to hang on for dear life. Marley looked up at the face of the person who was trying to help her and saw a sad Ryder Lynn. With one final tug Katie was released from Marley's legs. Ryder held onto her with one hand and extended the other hand up to Marley to help her mount the stairs. Marley accepted the hand and stepped onto the stage conscience of all the eyes following her.

"Well bravo!" Effie Trinket gushes with happiness. Finally her reaping session would have a little bit of drama. Effie was tiered of all the boring people dragging their feet up to the platform as if they were walking to their funeral and not about to have the nation's attention on you. "That's the spirit of the Games! What's your name?"

Marley swallows hard and speaks into the microphone. "Marley Rose." Her mother who had been standing in the back of the group let out another wail as she watched her child's face appear above the screen in the square.

"I bet my buttons that was your sister. Don't want her to steal all of the glory, do we? Come one everybody! Let's give a big round of applause to our newest tribute!" Effie Trinket waits for applause but never get it. She looks to the area where the betters are sitting but even they are silent and looking at their shoes. There is silence but then slowly one person at a time the crowd raises their left hand and places their three middle fingers to their lips and then extends their hand out to Marley.

The people have spoken in their own way. They do not agree. They do not condone. They all agree all of this is wrong.

Marley is in danger of crying even more now that she has the whole support of District 12 behind her. Katie's crying has now quieted into sobs but even she has extended her fingers out to her sister. Haymitch staggers across the stage and throws his arm around Marley's shoulders. His breath reeks of liquor and it appears by the dirt around his face and chin that he has not showered in several days.

"Look at her. Look at this one! I like her!" He stumbles with his words and clutches at Marley for a few seconds as he regains his balance. "Lots of… SPUNK!" The last part of his sentence is annunciated to a point of hysteria. "More than you!" He releases Marley and stumbles toward the front of the stage. "More than you!" He points into the camera and stops his foot down on the stage with a fury of bangs. His foot is about to come down again when he totters forward and falls face first off the stage. A few Peacekeepers rush forward and take him away on a stretcher.

"What an exciting day!" Effie Trinket thrills trying to get the ball rolling again. She crosses to the other ball and stands in front of it as a photographer from the Capitol comes forward and snaps a picture of her with her hand in the glass ball. "But there is more excitement to come! It's time to choose our boy tribute!" She puts her hand into the ball and swirls it around to mix up the paper. Marley doesn't have time to wish for her few friends' safety before Effie pulls out the name. "Jake Puckerman!" Marley curses quickly and moves out of the way of the stairs. Jake comes forward and takes his place on the other side of Effie. She grasps our hands and holds them aloft. No one cheers their eyes are all cast downward. The mayor steps forward to the podium and began to read the Treaty of Treason which was read every year.

Marley spaces out and considers what she could have done wrong in either a past life or the present one to deserve such mockery from the Fates. She had once dated Jake when she had first got into high school but had quickly realized her heart was not in the relationship so she broke things off with him. Later she found out Jake had cheated on her and Marley vowed to never date anyone else again. Her closest friends all had boyfriends and girlfriends and Marley was constantly the third wheel. She didn't mind though she was content with flying solo until the boys at her school realized they needed to settle down with one girl eventually.

The night of the mine explosion, the Rose family (what was left of it) had come home to find a full cooked meal on the table with no note of who could have left it. Together they sat down and prayed for the safety of all the trapped miners and prayed that their father had not suffered greatly while he died. Marley hoped with all her might her father hadn't seen death coming. She wished Death had just snuck up behind him and then enveloped him in a black cloak and removed all the pain her father had had to go through.

The meal saved the Rose family from buying food for a little more than three days. They had portioned it all out and found the meal to contain several small luxury items that they wouldn't dream of buying. The Rose family wasn't poor by any means but they did not have money to buy things like honey, cheese (real cheese not made from goat's milk), some moderately sized loaves of bread, and a few sprigs of domesticated mint leaves. Marley knew where to get the majority of these items but the bread was not made of the dry grain a person could buy with tesserae. It was exactly at that moment that Marley realized who could have purchased that meal. District 12 had only two bakeries in town one of which was closing soon due to poor bookkeeping; the other was run by the Puckerman family.

Jake's bakery was the only one still open at the time of the explosion that would have been able to bake bread with the Capitol's high prices. It was the Puckerman family that helped Marley and her family live off of having no paycheck for about a month.

Marley's eyes shifted over to glance at Jake and she was relieved to find he was not staring back at her. Effie Trinket grabbed each of their hands and held them aloft. The crowd was still silent as Effie turned us towards each other and brought our hands forward to grasp in what was supposed to be a friendly grasp but both their hands were shaky and his palms were sweaty. Marley tried to not look so frightened but found she could no longer muster enough energy to do anything but look at her shoes.

Marley hopes it will not come down to the two of them because she knows she could not force herself to kill Jake even if he begged her to. _There will be 24 of us. Odds are someone else will kill him before I do. _The odds were in Marley's favor but then again the odds have not been very dependable as of late.

**So I realize most of you followed this story either because you ship Quinn and Sam or somehow you just like the idea of this story, but I have to say now that Quinn's not a major character in the story I find it difficult to write about those two as a couple. So I will continue the story but with two new characters that joined Glee last season: Jake and Marley. I hope you still follow this story as it will follow most of my original ideas from the first story. Anyways, reviews are always welcome and greatly appreciated!**

**~cold as ice**


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as the anthem stopped playing Marley was ushered through the justice building's doors and into a large room with velvet couch and chair sets. For a few hours Marley would have time to say good bye to anyone who wished to come to the justice building and risk having their tear streaked face shown on camera later to the whole world. The first people to visit Marley were her mother and Katie.

Katie crawled up Marley's lap and wrapped herself around Marley like she was a toddler again. Marley held her close as their mother wrapped an arm around them. It was a little awkward jut sitting there so Marley began to remind her mother about the things that needed to be taken care of while Marley was in the arena.

"Katie you are not to take any tesserae, you should be able to get by with the money you get from our small shop and the milk from Daisy." Marley turned to her mother and grasped her by her forearms. "Listen to me. Are you listening to me?" Millie nods surprised at Marley's sudden aggression. "You can't leave again." After the mining accident Millie had shut herself down mentally and had given up completely on trying to keep herself alive. Marley knew if her mother relapsed while Marley was in the games there would be no way for Katie to provide enough food for themselves by her efforts alone. Millie focused her attention on the floor and says quietly:

"I know. I won't. I couldn't help what…" Marley cuts her off knowing their time was very limited.

"Well, you have to help it this time. You can't clock out and leave Katie on her own. There's no me know to keep you both alive. It doesn't matter what happens. Whatever you see on the screens…" Marley's voice began to crack as she realized she was talking about her death as if it was just another poor soul lost to hunger and starvation in district 12. "You have to promise me you'll fight through it!" All of Marley's anger at the previous time her mother had given up came through in that sentence and her grip on her mother's arm increased.

Millie's face lights up in anger as she defends herself against her daughter's accusations. "I was ill. I could have treated myself if I'd had the medicine I have now."

"Then take it! And. Take. Care. Of. Her." Marley spoke each word with as much emphasis as she could manage without angry tears pouring down her face. Katie crawls back into Marley's lap and looks her in the eyes. For the first time Katie looks older to Marley as if Marley hasn't really seen how much Katie had grown in the past few years.

"I'll be alright, Marley." She takes Marley's face into her hands. "But you have to take care, too. You're so fast and brave. Maybe you can win." Katie must know the odds are not in Marley's favor to win. There would be other kids from districts where winning is a huge honor who will walk into the arena swinging swords, launching spears, and swiftly ending the lives of unsuspecting victims. All Marley can do is give Katie a weak reply of maybe and then say that they would be as rich as Haymitch.

"I don't care if we're rich. I just want you to come home." Katie's voice has softened to just barely above a whisper so that Marley has to lean in to hear her. "You will try, won't you? Really, really try?" She holds up her little finger asking me to pinky swear like Marley used to when she promised Katie they would one day get a really big cake from the bakery for her birthday. Marley hooked her finger with Katie.

"Really, really try. I swear it." Marley grasps Katie into a bone crushing hug and tries to not cry in front of them knowing this could be their last few moments together also that there would be more cameras at the train station. Just as Marley thought a Peacekeeper walked into the room and ordered the Rose family to follow him out of the room. Marley tells them she loves them one more time and holds onto Katie's hand for as long as they can and then are reluctantly torn apart. Marley's hand is still outstretched when the door is closed behind them.

Marley's next visitor is unexpected. It's Dwight Puckerman, father of Jake. Marley tries to think of why he would come and visit her but all she can think of is one really stupid reason not even worth mentioning. They stand awkwardly for a while before his arm extends towards Marley and holds out a small white package. Marley unrolls the parchment paper and sees a dozen freshly baked cookies nestled within the wrapper. Her eyebrows rise at the odd gesture but she takes them and thanks Mr. Puckerman. Judging by the look on his face he had just said goodbye to his son. Jake wasn't really skilled with anything other than weightlifting, and baking bread and it was hard for Marley to see him as a real threat in the Games when in comparison to kids with the ability to use knives and spears. None the less Marley was determined to not let his appearance and lack of natural talent make him seem like a weak target. Nobody really says anything until the Peacekeeper comes to collect Mr. Puckerman out of the room.

"Do me a favor? If it comes down to the two of you and he offers you his life, please just take it swiftly and don't draw it out no matter how much popularity that would give you in the Capitol. Will you do that for me?" He turns away without waiting for an answer and Marley is left nodding to no one.

Marley's next visitor is another surprise. It's Rachel Berry, the mayor's daughter. She comes forward and embraces Marley in what she was guessing was meant to be a reassuring gesture but only left Marley more confused than before.

"They let you wear one thing form your district in the arena." She pulls out a golden pin from her pocket and holds it out to Marley. "One thing to remind you of home. Will you wear this? Here, I'll put it on your dress, all right?" Rachel fixes it onto the front of Marley's dress. "Golden objects are kind of my thing. Promise you'll wear it in the arena, Marley? Promise?" her voice was a little hysterical and Marley could only whisper a silent yes before Rachel leaned forward and gave Marley a quick hug before darting out of the room.

Ryder Lynn is the last person to visit Marley and by then she had accumulated many more gifts: words of advice like where to find water, some roots that were edible and found in almost every single Hunger Games so far, how to make sure you are covered from the elements no matter the location, the cookies, and lastly the pin. Ryder and Marley were not the best of friends but something unspoken had brought them closer since Ryder removed Katie from Marley's leg. He held his arms out wide and Marley didn't hesitate to step forward and wrap her arms around his sturdy frame.

"Listen. There are going to be a lot of competitive people there but you can't let that keep you from fighting the best you can. Getting a knife should be easy- they always include many of those, but getting a bow and arrow set is the most important thing.

"Why?" Marley steps out of his embrace to look at his face.

"You may be able to throw a knife a long distance, but a bow is the best way to see and shoot targets before they get to you." Neither of them mentioned that the targets would be humans. "There aren't always bows so you may have to construct one yourself but even a weak bow is better than no bow at all." He placed his hand on her shoulder and made sure she was looking him in the eye. "Marley, it's just a game. You are the best game player I know."

"But it's not just some game where if you mess up you move back a few spaces or lose one life out of five and these people will have strategies just like you and I are discussing." Even as Marley was talking her spirits and will to fight with all she had was fading. There was no way she was going to survive this game. There were too many rules, no. There weren't enough rules in this game to make it civilized. There were too many possible scenarios to play out and to plan for. The best thing to do was walk in there with only a minor plan and then watch as all hell broke loose and try not to get stabbed or decapitated or impaled. Either way if you were injured in the games you stand no chance of surviving.

"But you are the best and you have real life practice with keeping yourself alive. These people can train all their lives and they would never be ready to defend themselves in the wild. Do you really think those tributes from districts 1 and 2 can outlast you if it came down to going without food?" Marley shakes her head no. "Exactly, if the Gamemakers were to remove all the game in the arena and it was a battle of wills and technology at preserving food you would win easily."

"It's time to go." One of the Peacekeepers walked into the room and began to drag Ryder away.

"Remember Marley, I won't let them starve. And I…" The door shut behind him and Marley was cut off from anything she might have found comfort in.


	3. Chapter 3

Jake's POV

It's reaping day again and all I can think of how unlucky we are to live in a society where kids are sent to slaughter ever year just so the Capitol can have something to watch for entertainment. Every year we line up in front of the Justice Building just so Effie Trinket can walk up onto the stage in some ridiculous outfit and announce the victims this year. Thankfully I only have a few more years of having to worry about my name being reaped then I'm in the clear. For some reason this morning I felt lucky. Like today was going to be different and better. I only hoped this was a good feeling to have on such a terrible day.

I walked out of my house after glancing into the rooms of my brother and sister who were too young to attend the reaping. They were both deeply asleep and I would have woken them up but they didn't need to be bothered with just saying good-bye. I would see them later I was positive of it.

The Justice Building was being scrubbed from top to bottom by Peacekeepers in stiff white uniforms. A few people from the Capitol were setting up a huge screen divided into three parts. A few lights flickered on and then off. They then flared to life and flooded all of the people with white, unnatural light. I had to blink a few times before I could see again. I glanced around and noticed the table of 12-year-old girls. I also noticed unhappily that Katie Fabray was new to this year's reaping. I don't remember the last time District 12 had a 12-year-old tribute but it wasn't that uncommon for someone to be that young. I stepped forward and gave the Peacekeeper my finger to prick. After she rolled it on the paper and told me to get in line I looked around trying to catch some glimpse of Marley Fabray.

"Hey good luck today." Puck came up me and grasped me by my shoulder. I returned the gesture even through he wasn't my best friend. Effie Trinket took to the stage and spared me from any other conversation with anyone. I think of all the names in the reaping ball and think and thankful that only a handful contains my name. Luckily I haven't had to take any tesserae but there are others aren't so lucky. Ryder Lynn's name was in there 42 times this year. His family struggled to get by with the little money they were given after the mine accident so he had to sign up for tesserae every year. That Jakee accident had also claimed Marley's father.

The first name was called for the girls. My heart sunk like a lead balloon. It was Katie Fabray or rather it was one of the Fabray girls because seconds later Marley rushed forward and volunteered as tribute. Katie refused to let go of Marley and I was about to step forward and help her but Ryder stepped in front of me first and pried Katie off of Marley. _How could this happen? Why should the only person whom I care about be chosen to die? There is no way I'm letting her go to the arena. I'd volunteer for her but I'm not a girl. Damn these stupid rules!_ My mind was made up if my name was not called I would step forward and volunteer to be the boy tribute. There was no need for that as my name was called from the boy's names in the reaping. I held my head high as I walked onto the stage and looked at all of the faces of the people of District 12 and willed no one to step forward and take my place instead. Luckily for me no one stepped forward to take my place. "_Lucky for me?" Oh the cruel irony._ Marley and I shook hands and as we did I looked into her eyes to try and figure out how she felt but I couldn't see anything. Her eyes had clouded over with a cool indifference.

Marley and I were dragged through the Justice Building and put into separate rooms to say our good byes. My first visitor was my father. In his hands was the batches of cookies he always gave to the tributes each year even if he didn't know them very well.

"I never planned on having to give these to you son." My father grasped me by the shoulders and brought me into a bone crushing hug. "Try to win son. The family needs you to come home."

"I will dad, but if it comes down to me and Marley she'll be the victor. There's no way I can just forget my feelings for her and kill her. I couldn't live with that. Not even if we needed the money that winning would give us." My father nods his head slowly as if he's trying to process every word I'm saying. He hands me the batch of cookies and shakes my hand.

"Good luck son, and may the odds be in your favor." He pressed his three middle fingers to his lips and extended them out to me like the audience had done for Marley. I returned the gesture and watched him walk out the door. I knew this would be the last time I saw him but I wasn't really terrified just yet. The shock of what would come later wouldn't settle in right away and my fear of dying wasn't my main concern right now. How on Earth am I going to get Marley to agree to some sort of treaty or truce between us? I knew how much winning would mean to her and I doubted she would want anyone on her team that would slow her down or get her killed. I had to think of some way to make sure the Careers didn't find her right away; even if this ended up killing me. My mother was the next person through the door.

"Oh Jakey! I always knew you would amount to something! Even when other people told me it was hopeless for you after Marley left you, and you would never find another girl to love you; I said different!" She embraced me in a really awkward hug that I could not move. Finally I just rested my hand on her shoulder. She took my face into her hands and squeezed my cheeks together. "Yup. You've got your father's bone structure and his eyes but you've got my hair. Not a very charming mixture but I'm sure the Capitol people will be able to do something with you; although most of the people will be looking at Marley. She's a stunning girl you know that?" I nodded trying to not let her abrasive personality rub me raw. Each day living with my mother had been a constant battle to keep myself from just packing up and leaving. She made it very clear when I was younger that she had wanted a baby girl but was "stuck with me". _Yeah well you won't be stuck with me for long._ I thought bitterly to myself. To my relief the Peacekeepers came and walked my mother out of the room.

I was only visited by a couple more people and then they stopped coming all together. As I sat in the quiet I caught voices next door. I found an air vent and went to it. The air coming out of it wasn't cool and was stale and smelled a little like smoke. As I listened to the conversation I realized it was the village people giving advice to Marley. She asked questions from time to time about what a certain herb looked like and what the best knot was for securing items out of reach was. The people eagerly answered and I realized they were all rooting for her. Not that I would blame them even I was rooting for her. The Peacekeepers ushered everyone out of Marley's room and I hurriedly rushed to a sofa and tried to make myself look calm. A moment later a Peacekeeper walked in to escort me into a car so Marley and I can board the train that will take us to the Capitol.

At the train station there were lots of cameras eager to snap our pictures and then rush off to get them developed and sold to the highest bidder. Already there was betting at the Capitols on who would start crying and who would come out on top. I planned on trying to help Marley as much as possible so I wasn't really focused on what my physical appearance was at this time.

Inside the train there were plates of food piled so high I won't have even known if I could eat all that food. Effie Trinket stepped in front of us and gestured to the whole train.

"All of this is yours feel free to take a look around and explore your rooms but be ready for supper in one hour." Effie Trinket walked past us into another part of the train. I glanced at Marley to see how she was handling all of the attention but again her eyes were vacant and empty.

"So… should we see if there's anything fun to do on this train?" I offered as a conversation starter. She just coolly glanced at me and then followed Effie out of the cabin leaving me to myself. I sunk down into one of the lush sofas and was instantly surrounded by people asking me if there was anything that I needed. I just simply shook my head and they retreated just as quickly as they had come. Something puzzled me about the speed of their movements but I wasn't allowed time to contemplate what they could be before a drunk Haymitch wandered into the compartment. He smelled of whisky and wine and he walked with a slight limp. _No doubt from the fall he took off the front of the stage._

"Hello sir. I'm Jake Puckerman from District 12. You're going to be our mentor in the Games. Right?" He glanced up at me and shook his hair out of his eyes. He drunkenly walked over to one of the crystal glass decanters of some amber colored liquid and poured more into his glass.

"What does it matter to you?" He slurred.

"What are some of your training tips? I mean what can you tell us that might get us more sponsors?"

"You want to know how to get more sponsors? I'll tell you how to get more sponsors. Killing people's the only way to get them to give a rat's ass about you. I am in no way capable to keep you alive in that damn arena. You're all _alone_." He spit that last word out and drained the last of the liquid out of his glass before picking up the entire bottle and walking out of the room. I had no response to his drunken ramblings.

"Why don't you go and get yourself ready for supper?" Effie Trinket poked her head into the room. She had changed all of her makeup and wardrobe and as now dressed in various shades of green. Even her hair and eye color was different. _How on Panem did she manage to change all of that in a few minutes?_ It must have been some new Capitol technology that people in District 12 wouldn't dream of having.

I leave through the door Haymitch did and found my room on a separate compartment. I walk into the room and am greeted by a computer voice welcoming me home and telling me not to be afraid to ask for assistance. I try not to take offense that the voice is telling me this is my new home. Glancing around the room I notice the room is not as extravagant as the dining car was but it also has a bit of a humble feel to it. The bathroom was off to the side of the main room and upon further examination I found the closet door handles. I pulled it aside and inside there were a large arrangement of shirts and pants in any color imaginable. I picked up one of the shirts and looked at the color. _What is this some kind of burnt orange/ pink carnation combination? What would you even call this? "Burnt carnation?"_ I found a more practical shirt and pulled it on. It was dark green in color and had some small buttons down the front. I chose a pair of darker pants and they fit perfectly.

Once I walked into the dining car I knew my shirt color choice was wrong. Marley sat at the table wearing the same color green I was wearing. I thought of turning around and changing but Effie had spotted me and eagerly waved me into the room. I walked in a tried to share a smile with Marley but she stared at me coolly and didn't seem to appreciate the wardrobe goof.

"Oh look at the both of you! I bet you planned this didn't you?" Effie clasped her hands together trying to get the conversation started.

"No." Marley stated looking at me as if daring me to say differently. Her gaze then dropped back to the plate in front of her.

"Uh, no it was a coincidence." I say lightly when Effie's once perky demeanor turns a little bit darker.

"Oh well, no matter. Where's Haymitch?" She glances around the room like she may have temporarily misplaced him but he is no where to be found.

"The last time I saw him, he said he was going to take a nap." I lied thinking Effie might not like to hear that he was probably passed out in his room from all of the alcohol he had consumed.

"Well it has been an exhausting day," Effie says and then raises her hand above her head and waiters bring food into the room. The plates are steaming hot, and the salads are nice and fresh, and the cheese is the color it's supposed to be. Nothing can seem to make this meal any more complete. Marley and I eagerly dive into the food. I try and maintain my table manners but the food is so rich that I have trouble keeping it all down. There's a thick carrot soup, green salad, lamb chops, and mashed potatoes, cheese, fruit, and just when I think I'm about to explode a chocolate cake.

"At least you two have manners. The pair last year ate everything with their hands like a couple of savages." Marley's head snaps up and she glares so hard at Effie that I think her heard might explode. _If looks could kill, Effie would be dead on the spot._ "It completely upset my digestion." Marley continued to glare at Effie but Marley realized the glare wasn't effective enough so she put down her fork and knife and downed an entire piece of cake with her fingers before wiping them on the table cloth. I had to admit I was slightly impressed by how Marley wasn't afraid to say or do what was on her mind. It was clear to me that Marley had known the people from last year's reaping and that they had come from homes how had it worse off then the majority of us did. Effie wiped her mouth on a napkin and stood.

"Why don't we go and see the reaping recaps?" She guides us into a larger car and sits us down on a large sofa. We watch as district by district the people are called forward. A few people volunteer but more often than not people remain silent. I watch as District 12's reaping is shown. There can be no mistaking the desperation in Marley's voice as she volunteers for Katie. I watch myself quietly mount the stage and am greeted by silence as well; however, the people of district 12 do not extend their fingers out to me in a sign of farewell. The anthem of the Capitol plays and then the seal flashes and the broadcast is ended.

"Your mentor has a lot to learn about presentation. A lot bout televised behavior." Effie groans as she catches sight of her wig in a mirror mounted on the wall.

"He was drunk," I explain, "He's drunk every year."

"Every day," Marley adds and for once a little bit of spark reaches her eyes before dying out again.

"Yes. How odd that you two find it amusing. You know your mentor is your lifeline to the world in these Games. The one who advises you, lines up your sponsors, and dictates the presentation of any gifts. Haymitch can well be the difference between your life and your death!" At that moment Haymitch walks in and slurs that he missed supper and then heaves all of the contents of his stomach onto the carpet. He steps forward and slips onto the mess and lays there. Effie shrieks at the smell and then runs away hoping over the mess and fleeing the room.

With Marley's help, we are able to pull Haymitch to his feet and get him situated in the bathroom shower. She offers to help me clean him up but I can tell by the look on her face that this was the last thing she wanted to do so I shook my head no. She also offered to get one of the servants to help me but I refused this also. She thanks me and then walks out of the room. I watch her leave and I can't help letting my eyes wander over her body. Her arms were toned from hard work in the Seam, and her body had a slight tan from being out doors a lot. Her body was small in stature and her legs traveled on for miles. She was easy on the eyes but no doubt would be a fierce competitor in the Games. I refocused my attention on Haymitch and began to remove his socks and shoes.


	4. Chapter 4

Marley's POV

After the fiasco with Haymitch I return back to my room and shower off quickly to remove the stench that was Haymitch's vomit. I opened the shower door and was surprised to see more than two nozzles. There were several buttons and each had a different symbol on it. I recognized none of the markings until I got closer and saw a letter H and a C on two of the buttons. As an experiment I pushed the H button and was assaulted by a jet of hot water. I blindly hit the C and was squirted by a blast of cold water. I jerked away from the tub and wiped my face with the sleeve of my robe. I pulled the shower door closer to my body and tentatively pressed a button with what looked like a cloud on it. A puff of some vanilla scented perfume came out of the wall but it was way to powerful and I had to walk out of the bathroom to get some clean air. I sit in my room for several minutes before walking back into the bathroom. The smell still lingers but it's less potent and I resume my position by the tub.

The next button I dare trying has a tear drop shape on it and is light purple in color. I press it and hide behind the door to avoid getting sprayed with anything. I look back into the tub and see some liquid soap coating the opposite wall of the tub. It smells slightly like lavender and has a gel like consistency. I felt a little daring and so I pressed another button with a tear shaped symbol the color of the sky and a runny white substance came out. I had no idea what this was supposed to be so I stuck my head out into the corridor and looked for Effie. Luckily for me she was walking down the corridor and I was able to get her attention.

"Effie." I whispered just loud enough for her to hear me.

"Yes Marley. What can I help you with?" She grasped my hand in hers. I pulled her into the room and towards the bathroom.

"I can't figure out this thing." I say trying to maintain a little bit of dignity for not being able to figure out a shower.

"Don't worry dear; you're not the first one to come asking me about the showers." She points to all the buttons and explains that the light purple one is for soaping up your hair and the similar blue one is for making your hair easier to brush. The cloud shaped one was for smelling nice.

"That's all great and stuff, but if I can't get wet how am I supposed to get the soap out of my hair?"

"Just push these two buttons." She gestures to the H and C buttons.

"I know; I already tried those and nearly got my face burnt off and then was made into a human ice cube."

"Try pressing them at the same time and then press again for warmer or cooler."

"Thanks. I feel like a dork for not being able to figure out how to work a shower,"

"No problem just when you get done throw on something and we can go and have dinner."

After my shower I throw on last night's clothes and figure since I'll be dressed by the Capitol stylists soon it doesn't matter what I wear now. I brush my hair and try to braid it like my mother had done my hair for the reaping. It looks sloppy and I rip the pins out of my hair. _Not the smartest idea I've had all morning._ I decide to leave it down.

As I enter the dining car, Effie brushes past me with a cup of coffee in her hands muttering about Haymitch's behavior. Haymitch's face is puffy and red from last night's indulgences and he is laughing. I glance at Jake who's holding a roll and smiling sheepishly.

"Sit down, sit down," Haymitch tells me and as I do a plate of eggs, ham and fried potatoes is placed in front of me. I pick up my fork and begin to pick through the eggs. I look at the ham and can't help but feel a little pang of guilt over what my family must be eating while I'm here stuffing my face. The thought of them watching me eat while they had nothing was almost too much to bear and I slowly picked through the rest of my breakfast. I glance around the table seeing items my family wouldn't have been able to buy even for special occasions. There are all sorts of things from wild and exotic fruits, to coffee, to bread rolls, to orange juice, to some unknown rich looking drink in front of me.

"They call it hot chocolate." Jake says seeing me look at the small cup of it. "It's good." I find it hard to believe that something that looked like runny mud could taste good. I take the cup into my hands and give it a small sniff. It smells richer than it looks and once I take a small sip of it I know this is my new favorite thing. It's rich and full of flavors I have only known one before; when my father brought home a small slice of cake from the bakery in town. Even then the chocolate wasn't very flavorful but it still had a small amount of appeal, but this stuff, um, it was chocolate in hot heated form. Somebody could hit me know and I know it wouldn't spoil my mood. I drain the cup and start gorging myself on food. I try not to feel bad by telling myself that gaining a few extra pounds might do me some good in the arena.

I glance at Jake who is also gorging himself on food beside me. Luckily we hadn't made the same wardrobe mistake again. He wore a dark blue shirt and tight black jeans.

"So you're supposed to give us advise," I direct my comment to Haymitch who has been thinning a glass of some unknown red juice drink with another clear liquid. Judging from the smell of it, it is some kind of spirit.

"Here's some advice. Stay alive," He laughs with himself like he's made some great joke and it makes me mad. I exchange a nervous glance with Jake before turning back to Haymitch who is still laughing.

"That's very funny," Jake says then knocks the glass out of Haymitch's hand and it shatters on the floor. "Only not to us." Haymitch's fist come up so quickly I thought he could have been sober. His fist connects with Jake's jaw and his head snaps sideways with the force of the blow. Haymitch reaches forward towards the spirits again but I stand up quickly and the knife I have in my hand comes down hand into the table a mere inch away from his hand. My own speed surprises me. It must have been some sort of adrenaline rush.

"Well, what's this? Did I actually get a pair of fighters this year?" Haymitch glances at the two of us and then back at the knife. I remove my hand from the hilt and sit back down in my chair. Jake rises from the floor of the train and grabs a handful of ice from the fruit display. Haymitch shook his head and motioned for Jake to put the ice down. "Let the bruise show. The audience will think you've mixed it up with another tribute before you've even made it to the arena."

"That's against the rules," Jake says with less conviction than I think he meant for it to have.

"Only if they catch you. That bruise will say you fought, you weren't caught, even better," He turns from Jake to me. "Can you hit anything with that knife besides a table?" I thought about what skills I had. In school we were allowed to do archery with bows and wooden arrows (they wouldn't do much damage in a fight) and I was pretty decent but I didn't know about throwing knives. I pulled the knife out of the table and took aim at the opposite wall hoping it would stick in the wall. To my surprise and I think to everyone's surprise the knife wedges itself between two tiles and stays put. I smile a little but then wipe it off my face. Arrogance was not a face I wore well.

"Stand over here. Both of you," It's not a request that both Jake and I join Haymitch in the center of the dinging car but rather a demand. I don't d well with commands but I swallow my pride and walk over to stand by Jake. He circles us inspecting everything from muscle tone to hair color. "Well, you're not entirely hopeless. Seem fit, and once the stylists get hold of you, you'll be attractive enough." I try not to take his comments as an insult knowing he was my only way to get sponsors and tips on how to survive the longest.

"All right, I'll make a deal with you. You don't interfere with my drinking, and I'll stay sober enough to help you," He pauses glancing at our faces to see if we are listening, "But you have to do exactly as I say." It's not much of a deal but some help- even drunken help is better than no help at all.

"Fine." Jake says almost reluctantly and I can tell he doesn't like the idea of Haymitch still being drunk while we fight for our lives. _Maybe Haymitch will surprise us all and turn out to be some fabulous mentor, who knows?_

"So help us. When we get to the arena, what's the best strategy at the Cornucopia for someone…" I start asking but he's shaking his head.

"One thing at a time. In a few minutes, we'll be pulling into the station. You'll be put in the hands of your stylists. You're not going to like what they do to you. But no matter what it is, don't resist." Haymitch tells us. His eyes linger longer on my face and I am almost offended at his lack of faith but then I realized I was just as thick headed as Haymitch must have been when he was a tribute.

"But…" I begin to protest but am again silenced by a look from Haymitch.

"No buts. Don't resist," He points two fingers at his eyes and then points them back at us as if he's watching us. With one more look, he grabs a bottle and leaves. The car goes dark and I momentarily lose my cool and feel trapped. I feel a panic attack coming on. My hands reach out to find something to steady myself with and unfortunately it's Jake's hand. I'm about to let go when his hand grasps my wrist and keeps a firm hold on my hand. I feel something in me begin to release and I find the darkness a little less frightening than before. His hand is cool in mine and it feels rougher than I remember. Maybe it was just the passage of time since we last held hands but somehow his hands feel older, like they've had more experiences in the world. There are some calluses on his palm and some rough skin in need of some lotion in between his fingers. None the less his hand was a welcoming comfort in the darkness of the tunnel.

I can feel the train begin to slow down and the car is thrust into light once again. Without meaning to I rush to the windows dragging Jake along beside me. I glance over at him to apologize but see his is staring at our linked fingers. I gently pull my hand away and look back out of the window. The videos they show in school aren't even close to what we see. The cameras failed to capture the magnitude and brightness of all the colors. Sure the cameras captured the image of the buildings but they failed miserably to capture the feeling of the Capitol. The whole place seems to be alive like all the buildings might pick themselves us and walk over to an empty slot and decide that's where they live now. Each building had its own personality; some were tall with grand balconies, others were short and long. The buildings looked a little like the people which almost made me laugh because most people in our district looked like their occupation. The people were more outrageous than the buildings though and their fashion sense was almost too much to be real. I looked at one lady whose corset was tightened so much that she was almost cut in half.

"That can't be healthy." I say pointing to the women so Jake can see. He looks at me and rolls his eyes but there is a smile on his face.

"I wonder where this guy is going with that wig." Jake points to a man with a giant purple wig and a boat on top. Like a small scale boat on top of his head. It didn't look like it weighed his body down one bit. Then people started to look at the train going through the middle of the town. I slowly backed away from the door suddenly afraid of all the people here. _All of these people want to watch me die. They all want me to be killed so they can be entertained._ Jake saw me shrinking away and reached out for my hand. I let him take it and slowly pull me toward the window again. He entwined our fingers again and held them up for the people to see. The people of the Capitol were in frenzy at our arrival but when Jake raised our hands they almost all passed out with how much more they cheered. The noise was deafening and suddenly it all cut off. I looked around to see what had gotten them all so quiet and noticed we were being surrounded by cameras. Apparently the cameras came first in the Capitol because all of the people backed away from the train to let the camera people do their job. The lights from the cameras began to flash and I wanted to leave the window again but Jake's hand was firmly planted in mine and I wasn't going anywhere.

"You can smile," Jake suggested while waving with his other hand.

"I'm not going to stand here and act like they're doing me a favor," I say frowning just to prove my point.

"Who knows? One of them may be rich," He says this and there is no point arguing with him. He's right and if I want to make it home to see my family, I have to play nice and act like I care what they think bout me. I smile and if anything the cameras flash even faster and our image is flashed up onto a makeshift screen. People begin to chant something but I can't tell what it is. We are deposited with Haymitch and Effie at the bottom of some huge building. Effie walks briskly out of the train a pink bag swinging wildly from her arm and she rushes into the building not even looking back at us.

"Personally I think she'll be glad to be rid of us soon," Jake jokes and I laugh before I can help myself. We walk into the building but are then whisked away to another building.


	5. Chapter 5

Jake's POV

Once we are in the Capitol and temporarily relaxed a pair of Peacekeepers comes into the room and escorts Marley and me out of the room and into separate facilities. At the facility the Peacekeepers handed me over to three extravagantly dressed people. Each of them had different colored hair, skin color, and piercings. One of the women led me over to a tub and told me to strip down. I felt a little conscience that there were two women there but I stripped down anyways remembering the deal with Haymitch. They placed a small robe on a seat next to the tub and walked out of the room.

I sank into the tub and wondered what I was getting myself into. I knew my choice to let Marley win was a good one but I couldn't wonder what she would do if the roles were reversed. _Would she allow me to win if it meant going home to a loving family?_ There was no telling what she would say if she knew what I was thinking of doing. There was no way she would let me go through with it. Thank god Haymitch would be sober enough to help us otherwise what I would be asking would be practically a mission to discover life on another planet by myself.

After soaking in the tub for what seemed like an hour the man from my prep team walked into the room and told me to get out. He handed me a towel which I dried myself with and then I slipped into the robe. I followed the man as he walked down a corridor and as we walked I could hear screaming from several rooms.

"What's going on in there?" I asked curious about what could be so painful about looking good.

"It's the girls. They have to be waxed and polished before they are handed over to their stylists."

"What do you mean 'waxed'?" I asked thinking of the candles we have at home which were made of solid wax.

"The hairs on their bodies are being removed. We can't have girls going out in public in very pretty outfits and having hairy legs now can we?" He looked at me and raised his eyebrow.

"Uh, no I guess." I glanced down at my legs and shuddered at how painful removing even one would be. I continued to follow him until we got to a door with a M12 on it. He opened the door and ushered me inside. Closing the door quickly the man rushed into the room to stand beside the two female prep team members assigned to me.

They gestured to a chair and I sat down. They wrapped a black cape around my neck and then sprayed my hair with water. I blinked as the water slowly dribbled down my face and onto the cape. One of the females picked up a sharp looking pair of scissors and began to pull bits and pieces of my hair into her hands. _Snip. Snip_. My hair fell around me like a blanket. There was a small mirror across from me and I watched as she shaped and molded my hair into a short spiky arrangement. The man mixed something together in a small dish and then grabbed a paintbrush and dipped it into the liquid. The brush was heavy with some dark brown goop and I watched as he lifted parts of my hair and put a piece of foil under it and then painted my hair with the goop.

"What is that?"

"It's a small sample of brown hair dye that will breakup these boring one tone locks of yours." The man answered. I tried not to take offense to the "boring" comment.

"Why not apply it all over?" I ask thinking there was no reason to dye part of my hair.

"Marley's a very pretty natural blonde so we don't want to mess up anything with her hair; so you're going to be partly blonde. Haymitch wants you to look like a united front, a team if you allow me to use that term, without being mistaken for brother and sister," One of the girls explains like it's common sense but I can't help but wonder what Marley will think of my new hair. _She's always on my mind somehow. Even when I try and not think about her, I think about something she said or something she likes. _One the man was done applying the goop to my hair the prep team walked around me in circles. One of the women grabbed my hand and began to rub a small piece of metal across my nails. To my surprise they became blunt and rounded off perfectly. _Not that I really cared in the first place._

"There we are almost done." _Almost? I've been in here for what feels like hours. At least the screaming is done._ A while ago all of the screaming had suddenly stopped and left the room feeling a little bit empty. It left me a little on edge, but I guessed a person could only have a certain amount of hair on their body which could be removed. I'm sure Marley will be absolutely furious with Haymitch later for letting them do that to her. One of the female stylists grabs a bottle from the vanity and begins to squirt a clear liquid into the palm of her hand. She then pats my cheeks and down my neck and then dabs some more on my upper lip. The stuff has a temporary burning sensation but then it is gone and my face feels cool to the touch.

"What was that?"

"It's a temporary hair growth stunner. It will stop any hair from growing on your face while you are in the games. The rest of you may get dirty but you won't have any nasty facial hair growing on that handsome face of yours!" I examine my face and see that the tiny amount of stubble I had been growing prior to the reaping has also been removed. "It will also remove any existing facial hair which was the burning sensation you felt."

"I haven't had a shave for five years and you wouldn't be able to tell that feeling my face now would you? Go on feel," The man extends the side of his face towards me but I shake my head and don't feel his face. _What is it with these people and touching? Seriously I've never met anyone with this much of a personal space issue._

The stylists walk out of the room and I am left alone sitting in a robe. I look at my new hair and am slightly pleased at my image. Before I got my hair dyed people always said I looked innocent and cute, but the brown in my hair now gave me a more edgy look; like I could actually stand a chance in these games. The brown contrasts with my eyes making them look greener. I have to admit the prep team didn't do that bad of a job. A small women walks into the room and asks me to remove my robe. I hesitate and she smiles reassuringly.

"I'm Portia, your stylist. You must be Mr. Puckerman." She holds out her hand and I shake it.

"Jake is fine. Mr. Puckerman seems a little too old." She laughs and waits for me to undress. She walks around me lifting my arms out to the sides. Once she is done inspecting me she writes down a few notes on some kind of device and then takes a seat on a couch I hadn't realized was there.

"So how are you Jake? I know it must be a real shock to come all the way from District 12 and then be thrown in here."

"It's different, definitely different. I haven't really seen this many people in one place at all the same time, and they all have funny colored hair. No offense." I add seeing her bright gold hair.

"None taken. So let me tell you a little about how the Games function. The first night is the tribute presentations. This is the first night that the people of the Capitol will get to see you. It's important to make a good impression; there will be lots of important people with lots of money who will be looking to sponsor some of the tributes. You want to obtain as many pledges at this time as you can. Haymitch will later select a few to be your sponsors. Then for the next week you will have a few days for group training and then a few for personal training where you can talk strategy with your mentor. But until then there's no reason to worry about what you are going to do in the arena. Your first priority should be finding a song that will demonstrate not only your talent with a weapon but also your voice."

"My voice?" I ask trying to picture where this is going.

"Yes your voice. The Gamemakers this year think that having one glimpse of the tributes is not enough to make any sponsors truly happy. This year the tributes will have to perform a song or dance that will showcase their talents. Your training score will also be determined by how well the crowd responds to your song as well as how well you do in your private sessions with the Gamemakers."

"So we have to perform a song? What song should I do? I've never sung in my life, well except for in my shower and even then it's nothing worth paying money for."

"That's what I'm here for. Not only will I dress you in amazing outfits but I will also be your vocal coach. All final decisions rest with Haymitch of course but you do get some input." She pulls some tablet off the table and presses her hand to the screen. It flashes a few times and then a voice says "Welcome Portia". She smiles as she looks at my shocked expression. I wipe my face with my hand and try to relax a little. She pulls up some sort of list on the tablet and then holds it out to me. "Go ahead and pick any song you'd like." I look at the list but all I see is a bunch of words. I press my finger to one of the titles and sound starts to play. It's some loud pulsing thing and I tap it to try and get it to stop. I laugh nervously and try to pick one that doesn't sound like something dieing. I pull up the song titled "Don't Trust Me" by somebody called "3OH!3". The first part of the song is okay but then the song lyrics start talking about hoes so I shut it off.

"Maybe you should pull up a couple of songs you like." I suggest since my first to picks were awful.

"Sure try listening to this," She scrolls through a few pages of songs and finally picks a song. I glance at the song title and see a group called "Cobra Starship" and the song is "You Make Me Feel". It's not a bad song and has a really good beat to it. There's a female singing with the group and I think of what Marley and I could do with this song.

"Are we singing with ourselves or are we with partners."

"I'm glad you asked. You will have one giant group project, which will introduce all of the tributes, and then each district will go as duets, or pairs, and then you will have a solo. The boys from the districts will go first and then the girls. Marley will be the very last show."

"What about the interviews?" Every year back in District 12 we have had to sit through the interviews and always District 12 receives the least amount of applause from the Capitol audience.

"Those will come after the performances. You'll have a brief intermission where you'll change clothes and makeup." I nodded pretending I knew what an intermission was.

"So what song should I do as a solo?"

"Well I think Haymitch will want something that shows how strong you are and also how approachable you are. So I think this is the song he has in mind for you. She picks up the tablet and scrolls for a few seconds until she finds what she is looking for. She plays the song and I am pleased with the choice. _I guess I have to be since I'll be singing it. What song will Marley sing? Probably something to show off her beauty and her already amazing voice._ Marley is really the only person I know in District 12 who can carry a tune. When she sings the birds stop their melodies and listen intently to hers. Portia leads me to another room and sits me down beside her on a large bench. She lays her hands on the black and white keys before us and begins to play a simple chord. She sings a little and tries to match the pitch of the note coming out of the piano. She finally locks into the pitch and stops playing.

"Now I want you to try and match the pitch of this note, okay? Just keep singing the note when you think you've locked into it." I had only ever taken a few music classes back in District 12 but the piano we managed to get a hold of was broken in two places and was being supported by a few pieces of wood we happened to find outside the mine. Almost all of the strings needed to be replaced the piano was in bad need of a good tuning. Portia played the note and I started to sing. "Open your mouth more. No one ever sings well with a closed mouth." I opened my mouth wider and continue to try and find the pitch. Finally I manage to lock in all of the notes she wants me to and then we start on the music. I tried to focus on the music but my mind kept drifting to Marley and what she would be wearing and singing. Later we would finally get to see each other.

** I know this last chapter was about Jake but I have to say a few things about Marley before posting the next chapter. Marley never had Beth because that wouldn't fit the story, Marley's sister is younger not older, Puck has no real attraction to Marley other than thinking she's pretty, Marley doesn't hunt illegally like Katniss does in the Hunger Games, and lastly Marley's father never cheated on her mother but did die like Katniss's father did in the book. For people who are wondering this is a Fabrevans fan fiction even though it only says Marley online. There will be some Cato/Marley pairings in later chapters. And you will just have to keep reading to find out whom she chooses to be with in the end! Please R & R!**

**~ cold as ice 1915**


	6. Chapter 6

Marley's POV

The dress and matching headpiece Cinna put me in itched like crazy and I was told not to turn around. I felt someone come up behind me and step onto the chariot. Cinna was busy arranging my cape around me so there was no avoiding talking to Jake. I knew he was upset about me talking to Cato but I didn't want to deal with that right now. I was busy thinking about the flaming torch Portia had in her hands when I heard words come out of my mouth.

"What do you think about the fire?"

"I'll rip off your cape if you'll rip off mine," He says and I laugh nervously before I can help it.

"I know we promised Haymitch we'd do exactly what they said, but I don't think he considered this angle." I start to pick at my nail polish before I remember that the prep team threatened me with another eyebrow waxing.

"Where is Haymitch anyways? Isn't he supposed to protect us from this sort of thing?" He says looking around. He moves too quickly and his headpiece tilts sideways on his head. I reach up and reposition it. He gives me a small smile and is about to say something but I cut him off.

"With all the alcohol in him, it's probably not advisable to have him around an open flame," we both laugh and there is no denying how nervous we are about being lit on fire, paraded around like cattle, and then forced to perform like the bunch of monkeys the Capitol once had to "entertain us". The anthem started to play and our horse is guided forward by a group of Avoxes. We stand in our chariot in a line behind District 11. They are dressed in a pair of overalls and have some sort of pitchfork-like thing in their hands. The tributes aren't allowed actual weapons so their designers had to be creative. The thing looks like someone fashioned some wire on top of a broom handle and then painted it silver.

The anthem cuts out to some sort of "edgy" pop beat and the tributes from District 1 are rolled out with their white horses. The crowd cheers wildly for the tributes that make all of the luxury items for the Capitol. They are always a favorite group and this year is no exception. The noise gets quieter as the tributes from 5-11 roll out in their wild outfits. Moments before District 11 is about to roll out Cinna and Portia appear beside us holding torches. I hold the cape out from my body hoping if it catches fire too quickly the slight distance I created will help me avoid the worst of the burns. To my surprise it only tickles a little as the fire sweeps up the cape and stops flaming at the base of my neck. Cinna breathes a sigh of relief. I bend down at his request and he lights the top of the headpiece. I stand tall and grab hold of the front of the chariot.

"Remember, heads high. Smiles. They're going to love you." He jumps down from the chariot as it starts to move forward. He has one last thought and says something but I can't hear him over the roar of the crowd. I turn to Jake and ask what he said.

"I think he says for us to hold hands." He reaches for my hand but I pull it away. I have a desire to look at him and see how he looks in his outfit so I shyly glance his way.

His headdress is not as elaborate as mine is but even then he is still regal looking. His eyes are glowing from the light of my headpiece. The light cast off of his own headpiece shades his face but the makeup on his face has prevented the shadows from being too dark. He looks very attractive and for the first time I notice his hair had been brightened. I tried to keep my face neutral as we pulled out of the training center but the crowd's reaction to our arrival was astounding. The people seemed to lose interest in the other districts completely and were focused solely on us. The chariot temporarily got stuck on a rock and lurched forward. I grabbed Jake's hand and didn't let go. He looks down at our hands momentarily before grasping mine more tightly and raising them above our heads. I think the crowd gets even louder but my ears are ringing and I can't tell. I think of what Cinna says about the Capitol loving me and I can only hope he's right. They may be the difference between me living or dying.

At last I can't help but smile and wave with my free hand to the audience. Someone throws a rose and I catch it. I pretend to smell it and the audience gives whoops of joy and I see a few people pass out. I bring my hand clasping the rose to my lips and blow the audience kisses. I catch a glimpse of Jake and me and see our faces blown up onto a screen as large as my house in District 12 was. _It is still your home._ I remind myself knowing this will not be my last few days on Panem. Pretty soon I hear people begin to chant my name and Jake's is chanted just as often but not as enthusiastically.

Once we are in the City Circle Jake begins to let go of my hand. I grasp it tighter even though I must have been squeezing it to death in the first place.

" No, don't let go of me. Please, I might fall out of this thing," I lie to him and it doesn't feel good but right now my nerves are so fried and my body is filled with adrenaline and endorphins and I can't seem to just tell him I want to hold his hand.

President Snow stands up and does his little speech about what a privilege it is to have all of the tributes here at the Capitol. The crowd cheers as he walks back into his mansion. Before the chariot can pull back into the Training Center I see our faces again on the big screen. I smile and wave some more and blow one final kiss as the door closes behind us.

It feels serial to have just spent an hour and a half standing on some chariot while thousands of people cheer my name. Our ride comes to a stop and we are rushed off the chariot and into embraces of our prep teams as soon as our capes and headpieces are extinguished. Jake and I are still holding hands but I release my grip and Jake takes his hand out of mine. We both massage our wrists trying to get the circulation back into them.

"Thanks for keeping hold of me," I say thinking carefully of what I'm about to say. "I was getting a little shaky there".

"It didn't show," He says looking at me full on for the first time that night. "I'm sure no one noticed. In fact I'm sure they didn't notice anything but you. You should wear flames more often, they suit you," As he says this my cheeks light up a bright red but thanks to the makeup job my prep team gave me you can't tell.

I place my hand on his arm and say thanks and we head off to the higher levels of the Training Center.


	7. Chapter 7

Jake's POV

There's something magical about watching Marley on the big screens as we are paraded around the town square in our matching outfits. Marley was clearly nervous and you could tell it by the way her eyes were cool and calculating. She looked absolutely amazing and I knew that even standing beside her in matching outfit that she outshined me. But that was the way I wanted it. I wanted her to have as many sponsors as possible so she could have the best chance of winning the Hunger Games. I didn't care that people were cheering her name louder than mine, and I didn't care that she was thrown flowers. None of that mattered because she was on fire and she looked HOT. Once Marley had calmed down a little and her adrenalin was pumping she began to relax and her eyes began to sparkle in the way I loved.

Her face had minimal makeup but that was the way I liked it. Marley didn't need pounds of makeup to look beautiful, she just was. She was a natural beauty and even when in District 12, where beauty came second to survival, she was beautiful. I can't remember a time when I saw a more beautiful girl. The other Districts may have the luxury of having jewels and body paint but Marley has her natural beauty. Marley was the girl on fire.

The crowd started to cheer her name and from somewhere someone threw her a rose. She caught it and gave it a gentle sniff. The crowd cheered louder than before as she smiled and waved to the crowd. For her having such a negative reaction on the train she sure was playing the part of a crowd pleasing tribute. We get to the end of the street and are rounded up in front of President Snow's mansion. He gives a speech but I'm not paying attention to him. My eyes are glued to Marley and how stunning she looks in her outfit. I hardly notice how hard we've been holding hands until she releases her grip. We both massage our hands till we can flex our fingers and get some feeling back in them. Our next task was training for the Games and the pre-show/ interviews, and I was not looking forward to it.


	8. Chapter 8

Marley's POV

Jake and I step into the elevator together but neither of us says anything to each other. Effie can't stop talking though so there isn't silence as we zoom to our floor in the giant building which houses the tributes. Apparently her job doesn't stop with us on the train, but rather stops when we are in the training center, in the arena, or dead. _I guess it's good that someone's watching out for us. _Neither Jake nor I had seen Haymitch since he agreed to help us with our training. _He's probably passed out somewhere._

Effie apparently knows everyone in the Capitol because she takes the whole elevator ride listing off all the people she's talked to. The good news is most of them have pledged some sort of support.

"I've been very mysterious though, because of course, Haymitch hasn't bothered telling me your strategies," Effie sounds so pleased with herself at her job. _Even if I had a plan I'm not sure I would want everyone to know it. _To me that seemed a little stupid. Go ahead and plan to have some secret talent but have the other sponsors know it. "I've done my best with what I had to work with. How Marley sacrificed herself for her sister. How you've both successfully struggled to overcome the barbarism of your district."

I flinch as she says barbarism knowing she was talking about last year's tributes. They were both from the Seam and neither had seen food since their parents were killed in a small mining accident. I had tried to get them to move into the boys and girls homes but they always ran away from their homes. I tried to sneak them food when ever I could but even sometimes there just wasn't enough money for all five of us including my family.

"Everyone has their reservations, naturally. But I said, and this was very cleaver of me, I said, 'Well if you put enough pressure on coal it turns to pearls!" Effie begins to laugh so much I can't tell if she was trying to fool the other sponsors or if she really believed that. But trust me when I say coal does not turn into pearls. If that were the case I would have tried to put a mountain of coal under my house and tried to make pearls long ago. "Unfortunately I can't seal the sponsor deals for you. Only Haymitch can do that. But don't worry, I'll get him to the table at gunpoint if necessary."

I get to my room after listening to Effie retell the story to anyone willing to listen to her. The whole thing is larger than my house back in 12. They are plush like the train but have much more buttons and I'm instantly sure that I won't have time to press every single one. I head into the bathroom after stripping off my flaming outfit. I see the shower is a little more deluxe than the one on the train but I notice some familiar buttons and start with the most basic wash I could remember.

The hot water was amazing and unlike at home, you weren't sitting in your own dirt and you could actually get all the way clean. I glance out of the shower looking for a towel but I can't find one. I step out onto the mat and am instantly dried by some sort of warm air. _God is there no physical activity here anymore? I mean I've seen everything here form a machine that walks for you, to a moving sidewalk that you got on and off when you felt like it, and now a warm breeze dries you in less than three seconds. _I look at the other gadgets in the room and see one that looks like a diagram of hand on the top of it. Its square like a box but it has some sort of electrical current running around the fingertips. I glance at the underside of it and a large section of my hair falls over onto my face. I pull at the wet strand trying to get them in some orderly fashion but the drying curls tangle themselves even worse. I decide to further examine the odd box frustrated that my wet hair is falling into my eyes and I can't untangle it without a brush or a comb. I set my finger tips down on the diagram and feel a pulsing tingling sensation and feel my hair begin to separate and part itself nicely. I run my hand through my hair, searching for some sort of moistness that would suggest that I had just showered but there wasn't one.

I walked over to what I though was the closet wondering what mysterious setting this would have. I gently tapped the display and the closet whirled to life. The top of the machine spun slowly displaying a wide variety of tops most of which were girly but then the choices became more of what I was used to wearing. I selected a light blue shirt with some white stitching around the collar and then I chose a pair of white pants to go with it. Then the third section began to spin around displaying a terrifying array of high heels. It felt like I had to wait forever before the display finally began to become more practical. I selected a pair of dark blue shoes with laces. I stepped away from the closet and crossed to a board which was posted on the wall. A microphone, similar to the one they use on the reaping day rises from the table. I read one of the items off of the menu and the microphone retreats back into the table. Within a few seconds the item I had requested appears on a small platter. It is hot and steaming as I lift the cover but somehow I'm not hungry anymore. Besides dinner will be ready soon and Jake and I will have to talk strategy with Haymitch and Effie.

At the dining room dinner is being served. A silent young man dressed in a white tunic offers us all stemmed glasses of wine. I think about turning it down, but I've never had wine, except for the homemade stuff my mother uses for coughs, and when will I get a chance to try it again? I take a sip of the tart, dry liquid and secretly think it could be improved by a few spoonfuls of honey.

Haymitch shows up just as dinner is being served. It looks as if he's had his own stylist because he's clean and groomed and about as sober as I've ever seen him. He doesn't refuse the offer of wine, but when he starts in on his soup, I realize it's the first time I've ever seen him eat. _Maybe he really will pull himself together long enough to help us. I hope he does otherwise Jake and I will be alone and I don't really see Jake and myself teaming up. It just makes it that much harder at the end. _A couple of times in the Hunger Games the tributes from District 12 have tried to team up together. One of the problems with that is once you get down to the final eight or so, your priority of sticking together and surviving decreases and your desperation rises. Most of the time the tributes don't have to face the other tribute of their district but that was how the first victor from District 12 won.

The first time I watched the tributes from 12 teamed up it was a disaster. Both were from town and neither had really ever known hunger, and neither of them knew how to start a fire. We watched as they slowly starved and then ended up freezing together at night. Both were dead by morning. The next time the tributes worked together they were from the Seam and the town. The girl was pretty resourceful and always kept them fed and the boy knew how to construct makeshift shelters. They made it down to the final ten, but then the Gamemakers decided the game was "too boring to watch" so they dried up the tributes' water supply. All the contestants were forced to attend a feast and our tributes were killed by the career pack. The following year there were two people from the Seam selected. Both of them were pretty handy with knives and tools and both had knowledge of how to set snares for food. They made it to the final four and then the girl betrayed the boy. She offered to take watch and then killed him in his sleep. She stole all of the supplies and then went after the remaining tributes. She killed all of them as well and then smiled and waved to the audience. She may have been loved by the Capitol but home in District 12 she was hated.

Cinna and Portia seem to have a civilizing effect on Haymitch and Effie. At least they're addressing each other decently. And they both have nothing but praise for our stylist's opening act. While they make small talk, I concentrate on the meal. Mushroom soup, bitter greens with tomatoes the size of peas, rare roast beef sliced as thin as paper, noodles in a green sauce, cheese that melts on your tongue, then there are some sweet blue grapes which make me wonder how one district can provide all of this food. The servers move wordlessly to and from the table, keeping the platters and glasses full.

About halfway through my glass of wine, my head starts feeling foggy, so I change to water instead. I don't like the feeling and hope it wears off soon. _How Haymitch can stand walking around like this full time is a mystery to me._

I try to focus on the talk, which has turned to our interview costumes, when a girl sets a gorgeous looking cake on the table and deftly lights it. It blazes up and then the flames flicker around the edges awhile until if finally goes out.

"What makes it burn?" Jake asks saving me from having to ask.

"Is it alcohol? That's the last thing I want." I say taking another sip from my water.

"Yes the cake has spirits, but all the alcohol has burned off. I ordered it specially in honor of your fiery debut." I clap obediently when Effie starts cutting the cake.

We eat cake and then move into the sitting room to watch the replay of the opening ceremonies that's being broadcast. A few other couples make a nice impression, but none of them can hold a candle to us. _Pardon the pun._ I thought and then silently laughed.

"Whose idea was the hand holding?" asks Haymitch.

"Cinna came up with the idea of them being a pair of tributes instead of just the boy and girl tribute from District 12." Portia says.

"Just the perfect touch of rebellion. Very nice." Haymitch says raising his glass of wine.

_Rebellion? If anything there was too much touching. It's one thing to hold hands but another thing to present us as a team when I have no intention of making any alliance with Jake. He's too much of a liability._

"Have something on your mind there sweetheart?" Haymitch asks and I realize he's talking to me.

I wanted to lie and say that nothing was on my mind but what came out of my mouth was, "Yes I do. I am not going to be teaming up with anyone here. Especially Jake. Yes we were together once, but that was a long time ago and I have no intention of rekindling any sort of flame out of our failed relationship."

Out of the corner of my eye I see Jake flush with embarrassment. Portia and Cinna turn toward each other and ask each other if they knew we were a couple.

"Well despite that, tomorrow morning in the first training session. Meet me for breakfast and I'll tell you exactly how I want you to play it." Haymitch says not fazed by my sudden outburst. He must have known about us being together.

"Good night everyone," I say and rush out of the room. I stand outside my door trying to get the fingerprint scanner to hurry up but Jake catches up to me. His door being right next to mine was a little inconvenient right now. He says nothing as he presses his own thumb onto the scanner. Finally I give up on mine and turn to face him. "Look Jake I'm…"

"You don't have to apologize. I didn't want to team up with you either." He says cutting me off. He doesn't even look at me as he walks into his room and the door slides shut. Ironically the door slides open after his closes. I stumble into my room and sink down onto the carpet. _Why do I always do this? I always push him away and then feel so horrible about it later. It's not like I try and be this stupid, self-righteous snob who thinks she owns the world, it just happens to me. _I pick myself up off the floor and walk over to my bed. I grab a fistful of the silky material and sink back down to the floor. I pull the covers off the bed and carelessly pull the blanket over my head. _I am now lying on the floor in a pile of silky fabric while my family sleeps on a mattress that hasn't been replaced since my parents were married. I am a terrible person._ These were my last thoughts before I drifted off to sleep on the floor.


	9. Chapter 9

Jake's POV

As soon as I said those words to Marley and then stormed angrily into my room I regretted it. I knew that she'd be crushed but she also crushed me a little bit. After seeing her act like we could at least be friends- like how she smiled at me on the train and held my hand at the opening ceremonies, I expected Marley to be friendly. When she told Haymitch she didn't want to be allies I was more then disappointed. I was a like a windowpane and Marley had found a small crack in me and exploited it to the world. I thought she would at least listen to Haymitch and maybe agree with him once she saw how useful I could be in during training. I may not be very good at the survival aspect of the Games, but I do have some skills with knives and hand to hand combat. I lay on my bed trying to sleep when I heard a door slide open. It closed quietly but I knew it was Marley's door.

I got up out of bed and as quietly as I could I made my way to my door and began to follow her. She seemed to be half asleep and she kept swaying a little as she walked. She bumped into the wall twice but didn't seem to notice. She even hit a table with a very expensive vase on it. It started to wobble back and forth and I knew it would crash to the floor. Marley had turned a corner so I rushed forward and caught the vase before it could break on the tiled floor. I replaced the vase and then hurried to catch up to Marley. When I turned to corner I couldn't find Marley, but there was an open door a couple of feet away. I climbed the small staircase and found myself on top of the building. Marley and I were standing on the roof overlooking the city. The view was amazing and there were so many lights on everywhere.

At home in District 12 we were lucky to get a few hours of electricity and even then it was spotty at best. The city below us was light up so bright it took my eyes a second to adjust to the fluorescents. I glance off the side of the building and see a parade of brightly colored people flooding the streets and laughing merrily. _Like there is nothing better to do at night than party when 24 children are about to be killed off._ I think bitterly. Marley stops walking once she hits the rail surrounding the roof. She doesn't turn to face me but somehow I know that she knows I'm here.

"You don't walk very quietly, you know." Marley says still not turning around. It's hard to tell if she's still asleep or not but I still am cautious as I walk up beside her.

"I know. My mom always tells me to quit stomping even when I'm not."

"My mom always tells me not to sneak up on her. Apparently I walk really quietly." She smiles as she talks about her mother.

"So I have to ask. Are you awake or not 'cause you keep talking but you're not blinking. It's kind of creepy."

"I don't really know. I mean I feel awake and I can tell how cold it is so I know I'm not dreaming, but all these lights and colors make me think I'm dreaming. District 12 never had any bright colors like this."

"I know what you mean. It's like three in the morning and still the people are partying like there's nothing else to do."

"I'm sorry you know." She says turning to face me slightly, "About before- at dinner… I didn't mean it to sound that way. I just don't want to team up with you and then get down to the final four and have to either kill you myself or watch as someone else kills you." She says all of this in a rush but I somehow manage to hear all of it. She has a valid point. If I were her and had to watch someone kill me I know I wouldn't be able to go back and face District 12 as the Victor. _Maybe that's why Haymitch turned to drinking so much._


	10. Chapter 10

Marley's POV

Inside the training room Jake stayed close to me and didn't say a whole lot even though his eyes were taking in the whole room. I walked over to one of the empty stations and picked up the set of weapons that were propped up on a silver tray. Each of the blades was razor sharp and came to a neat edge unlike the standard District 12 silverware that was chipped and seldom sharp. Jake sat down on the floor behind me as I took aim.

My fist throw wasn't even close to the target's "heart" and I knew my knife throwing show on the train had been pure luck. I raised my arm a few inches and tried again. The knife sunk into the target a couple of inches above my first throw. With one last determined expression I took aim and smiled as the blade sunk into the target's "heart". _Death, _I think and am surprised at the amount of joy this gives me that I was able to hit a target and kill my opponent. I still have one knife in my hand so I turn and offer it to Jake. He shakes his head no and goes back to staring at the floor and the other tributes.

"Jake you have to practice for the arena. You don't know what'll be in there for weapons and you need to practice with all of them." I gesture to the weapons all of which were in a grotesquely beautiful display. This didn't seem to move him any more than if I'd told him he had some dirt on his face. "Fine if you won't practice for yourself, will you at least practice for me? I don't want to be in that arena on that first day and have to watch you get beat to a pulp just because you don't know how to throw a knife."

Something inside of Jake must have woken up because he takes the knife from my hand and turns toward the target. With a flick of his wrist the blade sails through the air and strikes the target dead center on his first throw.

I stare openly at Jake not knowing he could throw knives that well. He merely shrugs giving no explanation. I shake my head and move on to the spear throwing station. The boy from 2 and the girl from 1 occupy it. I wait with Jake until the two seem to be finished throwing. To my dismay the target's chest is deeply impaled by several spears. This time Jake steps in front of me and takes up the first spears. None of the spears land deeply into the target but his last one impales the target through the stomach. I cringe as he turns to me and offers me a spear. I grasp the spear and take aim.

It doesn't even reach the target but clatters against the floor and thuds against the wall behind the target. I hear several snickers from behind me before someone is silencing them. I feel someone walk up behind me but when I turn and look it's not Jake. It's the boy from 2.

"I'm Cato, you're Marley aren't you?" he asks me but I can tell from his tone that he's not really asking me what my name was.

"Yes," I say guarded not wanting to look like a complete idiot. I glance at Jake out of the corner of my eye and see his eyes are cold and calculating as he glares at Cato.

"You know you were that far off from hitting the target," I want to laugh at how stupid that sounded but he continues talking, "You shouldn't cross your body after you throw a spear; it takes away the momentum of the throw." I pick up a spear and throw it again. To my delight and Jake's displeasure the spear sails through the air and imbeds itself into the target. It's still not a death hit but it's better than the other throw was. I glance at Jake and see he is seething with anger. I half lead, half drag Jake away from Cato afraid of what Jake is thinking of.

"What's the matter with you?" I ask once we are a little bit away from Cato.

"There's nothing wrong with me," Jake says looking down at the ground. I try to look into his eyes but his hair is in the way and I'm left guessing what's wrong.

"You know the Game Makers wouldn't let you fight and even if you wanted to you couldn't take Cato. I watched him beat up one of the trainers this morning." Jake still won't look at me so I storm away to the survival training station.

Jake says nothing to me but hands me tools when I ask for them and helps me construct a, uh, slightly slanted tent. It's nothing fancy: just a piece of fabric draped over some poles and hammered into the ground with a couple of rocks, but it stands by itself. I look behind me to see Cato and Jake watching me although Jake's gaze keeps flicking to glare at Cato. I turn away from them suddenly conscience of the dirt spear across my forehead. _God I hate dirt- not really dirt but mud and sand. Sand just gets everywhere and is so hard to clean up. _The tent is leaning over so far that when I reach forward and grasp the center pole the tent succumbs to gravity and tips over. _Great. If it rains I'm screwed._

I leave the disappointing pile of supplies and head over to an empty table with an old lady sitting behind it. Judging by her look of surprise I know I'm the first tribute to approach the table let alone sit down at it. She smiles warmly and welcomes me to the "edible plants and bugs station." It hard for me to imaging eating bugs on a normal basis let alone when I'm starving for food out in the arena. The woman picks up several of the boards in front of her and begins to slide them toward me. I almost manage to catch all of them but the last one slips just barely beyond my grasp. I brace myself for the loud clatter and the laughter that was sure to follow my clumsy act but to my surprise the bang never happens and I look up to see Jake looking into my eyes. In his hands was the board that I had missed. He set it down gently on the table and took a seat next to me. I wanted to thank him but as the words formed in my head they got caught in my throat and became a tangled mess.

"If you'll take a look at that first board I slid toward you…" The old lady pauses as some kind of commotion happens behind us. Apparently both Jake and I turned around at the exact same time because our knees brushed and I felt my cheeks get warm, as Jake looked me in the eyes again. _What is it about him that makes me so nervous?_ Slowly I turned away from him trying to not look him in the eyes again.

I looked up to see Cato accuse the boy from district 8 about stealing a knife from him. The boy from 11 swore he had never taken a single knife but that answer wasn't enough for Cato. Cato swung at the boy but the boy easily ducked and swung at Cato. His fist made contact with the side of Cato's nose and blood started to pour down Cato's face. I looked around the training center to see how the other tributes would react. _If anyone comes for me I'm toast. _Something above the fight caught my eye.

Hanging from the ceiling was a small figure that couldn't have been older than Katie. She was holding on to the cargo net above the fight watching it all go down. She must have sensed someone watching her because she looked up, saw me, smiled, and waved a shiny metal object that I guessed was the missing knife. I smiled quickly to show I saw her and she pressed her index finger to her lips. I nodded and watched as the tucked the knife into the carrier around her waist and continued to climb higher on the net. I watched as she scaled the net like a squirrel I had once seen in District 12. I refocused on the ground where Cato was holding his face in his hands as Peacekeepers rushed forward to contain the fight. There were two loud pops and then Cato and the boy from 11 were on the ground. They remained there unmoving until two of the Peacekeepers began to lift the two boys onto stretchers. Cato was rushed out of the room while the boy from 11 was removed more slowly out of a second door.

"Oh my god they killed them!" I heard the words leave my mouth before I could stop them.

"Oh no silly. They didn't kill them; they only knocked them out so they could get medical attention. We wouldn't want all of you to go out on camera in front of all of Panem with bruised faces now would we."

"I guess not," I glance in Jake's direction and he is not looking at me.

Four hours later lunch was called and as I walked out carrying my tray I noticed all of the tributes were staring at me. Including the Careers. _Why does everyone keep staring at me? _I began to feel self-conscious about being the center of attention. I looked back at the Careers and notice Cato is not there. I jump when I feel a hand on my shoulder I spin around careful not to spill anything on my tray. I see Cato's face and am immediately shocked at how flawless his face looks. Before his nose had been slightly crooked due to genetics or something, but now it was perfectly straight and there were no signs that he had been hit at all.

"I didn't mean to startle you," he says smiling at me, "Why don't you come and eat lunch with us?" He gestured toward the other Careers all of whom were staring at me with their mouths open. I glanced away from them and refocused on Cato. Now I realized why people were staring at me. _I'm from District 12 and I'm being drafted into the Careers. _I glanced around trying to gauge if this was a joke but no one seemed to be waiting to laugh at me. I saw Jake sitting at a lone table in the back of the room. Although he was not turned toward us I could tell he was waiting intensely for my answer. I contemplated what an alliance in the arena with the Careers would be like and I didn't like it.

"Maybe not today," I say hoping he would get the picture. As I turn down his offer I lose the interest of the other tributes.

"Maybe tomorrow," he says and goes to sit down at his table. Almost immediately the conversations start up again. I sit down beside Jake and eat my lunch. He doesn't speak to me the whole time we are there and even after our evening practice sessions he still says nothing. He silently watched me and glares at Cato when he tries to help me figure out how to throw these odd star shaped objects. After returning to our suite Jake and I ate dinner with Effie and Haymitch. We talked about our day but Jake and I never spoke directly to each other.


	11. Chapter 11

Jake's POV

I see Marley a few hours after getting my makeover. She was always pretty in my eyes, but now after getting polished by the Capitol she was beautiful. Her eyebrows were perfectly matched and her hair was re-braided. We wore the same outfit again but this time there was no resentment in her eyes. She looked closed off and I wondered what she had been through to make her shut off like she was. She doesn't look like talking so I follow her to the lower levels of the building until we are inside the training center. I watched as Marley looked around the room and then settled on the knife throwing area. I sit on the floor behind her watching as she picks out a set of knives. Her first couples of throws aren't on target and something about not being perfect sends Marley into her competitive mood. Her eyes light up with a new fire that erases any hint of the melancholy I saw earlier. Her next few throws are a little higher and she finally sinks one into the center. She turns to me and I smile at her. She offers me the knife but I shake my head no. She doesn't know it, but I can throw a knife pretty well.

My friends and I always dared each other to throw knives at a target. My friends learned pretty quickly not to bet me I couldn't hit the target, but I still managed to get a pretty good amount of money.

"Jake you have to practice for the arena. You don't know what'll be in there for weapons and you need to practice with all of them." she gesture to the weapons all of which were pretty impressive. "Fine if you won't practice for yourself, will you at least practice for me? I don't want to be in that arena on that first day and have to watch you get beat to a pulp just because you don't know how to throw a knife".

My first response was to laugh but then I realized she was serious so I took the knife from her. It has some good weight to it but it's nothing fancy. I flick my wrist and send it sailing into the center of the target. Marley openly stares at me and I don't want to brag so I just shrug. 

She moves onto the next station which was occupied by the girl from 1 and the boy from 2. I decide to throw first this time and have little success throwing the spear. It's large and bulky compared to the knife's thin blade. Finally I manage to get one spear into the target. It sticks out of the dummy's abdomen and I cringe thinking of how painful that would be in real life. This station makes me realize my impending death is coming soon. I may be okay with a knife but if all I can get is a spear, I'm screwed.

I sit behind Marley knowing she might need more time to hit the target. I look around at the other tributes and see the boy from 1 and 2 are watching Marley. The boy from 1 looks bored but the boy from 2 looks like he's studying Marley. For some reason this ticks me off so I glare at them hoping they get the memo. Apparently they don't get the message and the boy from 1 walks over to Marley.

"I'm Cato," he says holding out his hand to Marley, "you're Marley right?" Something about his tone makes my skin crawl and I resist the urge to pull Marley away from him. She nods but doesn't accept his outstretched hand.

Cato begins showing Marley how to throw a spear and I can't help but feel jealous about how well she pays attention to him. She picks up another spear and makes a few adjustments with the help of Cato. The spear hits its mark and I glower at Cato.

We start trying to build a fire and I try not to laugh at the expression on Marley's face. She struggles with the matches and I gently take them from her hands. Within two matches I have half the kindling lit and a small branch is starting to smoke. Marley pulls out a bunch of poles and some canvas. Together we construct a really ugly looking tent- because I couldn't bear to tell she had some of the poles in the wrong place. The tent doesn't look like it would even stand a little bit of rain let alone wind.

I feel like someone is watching me so I turn around to find my least favorite person standing there watching us. Cato is standing there with his arms crossed over his chest.

Marley turns sensing someone watching her. She sees us and a startled look passes over her eyes. She turns back to the tent and leans against the center pole. The tent gives way and finally tips over. Someone behind me chuckles and I turn to see the girls from 1 and 2 watching us as well. _Maybe that was what the startled look of Marley's was._ The girls see me looking at them so they turn away still chuckling.

"What's the matter with you?" she asks turning toward me with sudden hostility.

"There's nothing wrong with me," I say looking down at the ground. She tries to look into my eyes but my head is bowed, obscuring her view.

"You know the Game Makers wouldn't let you fight and even if you wanted to you couldn't take Cato. I watched him beat up one of the trainers this morning." I don't say anything and she storms off.

Marley walks over to an older woman with a bunch of grey boards. I look at the older woman and see she has one side of her head shaved and the other in kinky waves. The lady startles as Marley sits down but quickly recovers. She welcomes Marley as I made my way over to the table hoping Cato doesn't follow. It appears his attention has been drawn away to the girls from 1 and 2 who are getting covered in oil for wrestling practice.

The lady slid a couple of boards toward Marley and I knew she wasn't expecting it because a few went just beyond her grip. I quickened my pace and caught the board before it clattered to the floor. I placed it beside Marley and sat down.

Although Marley and I are supposed to help each other, I know Marley is pretty independent but I chance a glance at her face. She looks like she wants to say something but she doesn't.

"If you'll take a look at that first board I slid toward you…" The old lady pauses as some kind of commotion happens behind us. Apparently both Marley and I turned around at the exact same time because our knees brushed. Marley looked me in the eyes again. _What is it about her eyes that make me so helpless? I'm like a puppy. Marley could probably ask me to jump off a cliff and I would do it._ Slowly she turned away from me clearly trying to not look me in the eye.

I looked up to see Cato accuse the boy from District 8 about stealing a knife from him. The boy from 8 swore he had never taken a knife but that answer wasn't enough for Cato. Cato swung at the boy but the boy easily ducked and struck back at Cato. His fist made contact with the side of Cato's nose and blood started to pour down Cato's face. Something above the fight caught my eye.

Hanging from the ceiling was a small figure that couldn't have been older than Marley's sister, Katie. She was holding onto the cargo net above the fight watching it all unfold. She must have sensed someone watching her because she looked up, saw me, smiled, and waved a shiny metal object that I guessed was the missing knife. I smiled and she pressed her index finger to her lips. I nodded and watched as she tucked the knife into the carrier around her waist and continued to climb higher on the net. I watched as she scaled the net like a squirrel I had once seen in District 12.

I refocused on the ground where Cato was holding his face in his hands as Peacekeepers rushed forward to contain the fight. There were two loud pops and then Cato and the boy from 11 were on the ground. They remained there unmoving until two of the Peacekeepers began to lift the two boys onto stretchers. Cato was rushed out of the room while the boy from 11 was removed more slowly out of a second door.

"Oh my god they killed them!" I heard Marley gasp loudly.

"Oh no silly. They didn't kill them; they only knocked them out so they could get medical attention. We wouldn't want all of you to go out on camera in front of all of Panem with bruised faces now would we?" The older woman smiles at Marley like it's the most obvious thing ever.

"I guess not," She says glancing at me. The older woman quickly recovers and resumes talking. I pay close attention for Marley's sake because I can't have her accidentally poisoning herself.

We are dismissed for lunch early due to the incident. I hope Marley comes to sit with me, but judging from the tension in the room something was about to happen. As Marley entered the room with her lunch tray, everyone had stopped talking and was staring at her. I saw Marley's eyes dart over to the Career's table and with a look of surprise she noticed Cato wasn't sitting there. Just then I saw Cato emerge from the side of the room and he walked directly over to Marley. Cato rests his hand on her arm and Marley visibly jumped. She turned around to face Cato who had an amused expression on his smug face. _This guy's really starting to get on my nerve._

Cato offered Marley a spot at his table but when I glanced over at the table there wasn't an open seat.

_Would Cato really kick someone out of their chair just for Marley? _Apparently the answer was yes. I felt happy as Marley rejected Cato's offer and then mad when Cato didn't look defeated.

Marley sat down beside me looking visibly shaken and I wanted to tell her not to talk to Cato anymore but the other tributes were still staring at us so I remained quiet.


End file.
